UEIC Joint Leadership Statement

Announcing the University Energy Institute Collaborative (UEIC) formation

August 1, 2021

Even before the COVID-19 crisis, the centrality and reliability of our nation’s energy systems have been underscored as critical to health care systems, food, goods, and services as well as our interaction and work with colleagues, friends, and family.

But, this network of critical energy infrastructure is at risk.

From the fires that burned in 2020 in the West. to a record number of hurricanes brewing in the Gulf of Mexico, to the near-permanent “flood levels” in many parts of the Upper Mississippi watershed, to the droughts in other parts of the nation—it is clear that our energy systems were not designed for effective operation in this emerging world. Responding to climate change will require a simultaneous reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation to an increasingly unpredictable climate. Reliability issues, and questions of energy access, also underscore the extreme societal inequalities that must be integrated into future energy systems. Reliable, clean, and affordable energy is a technical, social, and economic need—our energy systems must be re-tooled to create equity and access for all, not just the affluent or geographically advantaged.

Adapting our energy systems to these concurrent challenges requires more than merely changing energy technologies or relying on private sector innovation and goodwill.

Addressing these interlinked challenges requires fundamental shifts in how we plan, build, and operate our energy infrastructure. It requires changes in our laws, policies, and institutions. And it necessitates that we equip and broaden the existing and future energy workforce to be diverse, inclusive, flexible and ready for an increasingly uncertain world.

This is what American colleges and universities do best—help society face new challenges, adapt to new situations, and create new opportunities.

In September 2019, more than 100 leaders from U.S.-based colleges and universities began the formation of The University Energy Institute Collaborative at a Summit in Pittsburgh, PA. The network has grown to encompass over 150 energy institutes. As collaborating energy and climate research community, we appreciate that the scale of any solution needs to match the scale of the problem—at the global, national, and local levels—and we are committed to ensuring our country has the energy system that we all need.

Our different geographies allow us to fully appreciate regional differences and complexities across the country’s energy systems, and the need for local implementation.

We are working together to support training, education, and research for future energy systems. By engaging our network of energy experts around the world, and leveraging our collective strengths, we are working to provide both localized expertise and global experience.

Energy underpins our economy, our communities, and our collective futures. The world is changing and planning for that future is essential.  As a collective body, we agree that we must act now and, therefore, commit ourselves and our respective institutions to work together toward creating a more sustainable energy future for all.

For more information about the University Energy Institute Collaborative, please visit the University Energy Institute Collaborative website at www.ueic.org or contact Anna Siefken at asiefken@andrew.cmu.edu.

Energy Institute Signatories:

  • Appalachian State University, Appalachian Energy Center

  • Ball State University, Center for Energy Research/Education/Service (CERES)

  • Boise State University, CAES Energy Policy Institute

  • Boston University, Institute for Sustainable Energy

  • California Institute of Technology, Resnick Sustainability Institute

  • Carnegie Mellon University, Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation

  • Case Western Reserve University, Great Lakes Energy Institute

  • Colorado School of Mines, Payne Institute for Public Policy

  • Colorado State University, CSU Energy Institute

  • Columbia University, The Center on Global Energy Policy

  • Cornell University, Cornell Energy Systems Institute

  • Dartmouth College, The Arthur L. Irving Institute for Energy & Society

  • Drexel University, former A.J. Drexel Institute for Energy and the Environment (IExE)

  • Duke University, Duke U Energy Initiative

  • East Carolina University, Center for sustainable energy and Environmental Engineering

  • George Mason University, George Mason Center for Energy Science and Policy (CESP)

  • George Washington University, GWU Environmental and Energy Management Institute

  • Georgia Institute of Technology, Strategic Energy Institute

  • Idaho State University, Energy Systems Technology and Education Center

  • Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), Wanger Institute for Sustainable Energy Research (WISER)

  • Johns Hopkins University, Initiative for Sustainable Energy Policy (ISEP)

  • Lehigh University, Institute for Cyber Physical Infrastructure and Energy

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT Energy Initiative

  • Missouri University of Science and Technology, Center for Research in Energy and the Environment

  • New York University, Institute for Policy Integrity at New York University School of Law

  • North Carolina A&T State University, Center for Energy Research and Technology (CERT)

  • North Carolina State University, NC Clean Energy Technology Center

  • North Carolina State University, FREEDM

  • Northeastern University, Center for Renewable Energy Technology (NUCRET)

  • Northwestern University, Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern (ISEN)

  • Ohio State University, Sustainability Institute

  • Ohio University, Institute for Sustainable Energy and the Environment

  • Pennsylvania State University, Center for Energy Law and Policy

  • Pennsylvania State University, Institutes of Energy and Environment

  • Princeton University, Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment

  • Southern Methodist University, Maguire Energy Institute

  • Stanford University, Precourt Institute for Energy

  • State University of New York at Buffalo, The RENEW (Research and Education in eNergy, Environment & Water) Institute

  • Texas A&M University, Texas A&M Energy Institute

  • Texas Christian University, TCU Energy Institute

  • Texas Tech University, Texas Tech University Energy Institute

  • Tufts University, Climate Policy Lab

  • Tulane University, Tulane Energy Institute

  • Tulane University, Tulane Center for Energy Law

  • University of California Santa Barbara, Institute for Energy Efficiency

  • University of California, Berkeley, Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory (RAEL) Institute

  • University of California, San Diego, Center for Energy Research

  • University of Colorado Law School, Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment

  • University of Connecticut, Center for Clean Energy Engineering

  • University of Delaware, Delaware Energy Institute (DEI)

  • University of Houston, Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources (EENR) Center, University of Houston Law Center

  • University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Energy Institute of Louisiana

  • University of Maine, Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions

  • University of Maryland, Maryland Energy Innovation Institute

  • University of Massachusetts Amherst, Energy Transition Institute

  • University of Minnesota, Institute on the Environment

  • University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research

  • University of Notre Dame, Center for Sustainable Energy (ND Energy)

  • University of Pennsylvania, Kleinman Center for Energy Policy

  • University of Pennsylvania, Vagelos Institute for Energy Science and Technology

  • University of Pittsburgh, Grid Institute

  • University of Pittsburgh, Center for Energy

  • University of Washington, Clean Energy Institute

  • University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin Energy Institute

  • Vermont Law School, Institute for Energy and the Environment

  • Western Washington University, Institute for Energy Studies

  • Yale University, Yale Energy Sciences Institute